PUBLIC HOUSING

Ms CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (15:06): My question is to the Minister for Housing. Will the minister ensure that aged public housing tenants who are victims of violent behaviour by another tenant are given priority housing, and that the offending party is moved before the victim? The opposition is informed that, three weeks ago, a 78 year old tenant in a pensioner cottage was raped by a male neighbour, who was drunk and who had known behavioural problems. She has been provided with temporary respite accommodation, which will finish on 20 March, and is expected to stay with her daughter until relocated in other accommodation.

She has resided at the cottages for the last 2½ years, which was originally for aged residents, but, over the last three years, vacancies have been filled by much younger people, who often come with a history of mental health problems. She has had to move out her belongings and terminate her tenancy, as she has been told she will be responsible for the rent and any damage done to her property over the period of months expected for her recovery. The opposition is also informed that other elderly tenants are in fear of retaliation if they speak out about their fears of an unsafe environment.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Minister for Families and Communities, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister for Housing, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Disability, Minister Assisting the Premier in Cabinet Business and Public Sector Management) (15:07): I thank the honourable member for her question. The matters that she raises are very alarming and it is a major priority for this government to ensure that people can safely and quietly enjoy their tenancies within our Housing Trust units. That is why we have recently proclaimed the operation of a range of new measures, including amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act, which give us greater authority in relation to dealing with disruptive tenancies. It is always our first priority and our first step to deal with the perpetrators, rather than those who are the victims of that misconduct. But sadly, on some occasions when there is some doubt, or there is some issue of evidence, or the insufficiency of it, often some time needs to occur between the capacity to evict and the original complaint. In those cases, sometimes it is in the best interests of the person who is making the complaint to be offered an opportunity to move to another place. That is not desirable, but sometimes it is the best outcome for that particular person.

Of course, we cannot simply evict on the basis of a whim. We do have to have a basis for doing it, but increasingly we are giving ourselves more authority to act, especially in those cases where we have had prior poor conduct by a particular neighbour. We are very conscious of the matters raised. There is a legislative and policy response, including our new rapid response teams, which deal with and manage disruptive behaviour. In those most extreme cases, though, there should be no doubt that someone should be immediately evicted without the need to trouble the person who has been the subject of the abuse.